Malory Towers 5x17 "The Challenge"

★★★★★★★★★☆

2 very good storylines. Ruth and Susan investigate Mr. Murray. Show continues to successfully keep us guessing about his intentions. That said, because this is Enid Blyton, I think I know where it’s going. The Darrell-Alicia rivalry drives the other storyline. Lovely conclusion. 9/10

Malory Towers 5x16 "The Birthday Surprise"

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Camera. Ingenious idea for a self-contained story. Lots of fun. The twist/reveal at the end caught me completely by surprise. It shouldn’t have. I guess it makes sense that the girls must have a villain to defeat in the season’s final arc. I just didn’t expect it to play out this way. I’m impressed/invested. My 324th TV episode of 2026. Averaging 93 minutes of TV per day. 8/10

Malory Towers 5x15 "The Dream"

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Lightweight, enjoyable episode. Gwen (Danya Griver) is back. Pretty much everything she says is hilarious. Love that character so much. We also touch base with the excavation storyline again. It’s going to be fun to see that play out to conclusion. Mostly, however, it’s a script about how decent and kind Felicity is as she tries to be there for her big sister and take the lead in Gwen’s play and keep up with her studies. 7/10

Malory Towers 5x14 "The Penalty"

★★★★★★★★★★

Very different to previous episode, yet just as superb. One of the things I love most about this show is the idea of the girls–or some of them–as moral agents battling unjust rules. It crops up from time to time. Usually with Darrell. Here, it’s Clarissa (Amy Roerig) leading the charge to save the old donkey. Excellent b-story, too, driven by the idea of deliberately failing an exam to stay with your friends. Same idea used to great effect in s3 of Breeders. 10/10